Freight-car



V. WR'OCLAWSKI.

FREIGHT CAR. APPLICATION FILED AUGJB. l9l9.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

Patented Jan. 13,1920.

QM Q Q V. WROCLAWSKI.

FREIGHT CAR.

APPLICATION FILED AUGJBI I919.

Patented J an. 13, 1920.

2SHEET'SSHEET 2.

UNll sinus PTET VALENIY WROCLAWSKI, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

FREIGHT-CAR.

protected against being damaged by the relative shifting of the car and certain kinds of loads contained therein; to provlde an improved auxiliary or supplemental end wall arrangement for freight cars adapted to protect the regular end wall of the car; and to provide an'improved constructlon and arrangement of shock-absorbing means on the car connected to said auxiliary end walls and adapted to permit a certain rela-' tive shifting of the load and car without danger of damage to the car.

An illustrative embodiment of thls invention is shown by the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional elevation of a freight car constructed in accordance with this invention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary combination view taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1, the left portion of said view being from below and the right-hand portion being from above.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged transverse sectional elevation of a car constructed in accordance with this invention.

Fig. 4 is a horizontal sectional view of one end of the car taken on the line 4-4 of Fi 3.

in application of this invention involves the use of an ordinary freight car within which auxiliary or supplemental end walls are arranged and connected to shock-absorbing means located intermediate the ends of the car, whereby certain kinds of ;loads placed within the car are spaced away from the normal end walls and a relative shifting of the load in the car is yieldingly resisted so as to obviate the danger of damage to said normal end walls which will otherwise be likely to occur.

In the specific embodiment herein shown, the invention is shown applied to a Wooden box car. It will be understood, however,

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed. August is, 1919.

Patented Jan. 13,1920.

Serial No. 318,162

that the invention may be applied in substantially the same manner to a box car of metal construction or a freight car of the gondola type constructed from either wood or metal. i

The box car herein illustrated comprises the usual end walls 5 and 6 rigidly supported upon and connected to the bottom 7 sides 8, and roof or top 9. These ends usually consist of matched material fastened to vertically disposed beams or uprights 10 extending from the floor 7 to or near the top 9. So far as this invention is concerned, the particular construction of these ends or the means of securing them to the other parts of the car is of no importance.

The supplemental or auxiliary end walls comprise meta-1 plates 11 and 12 of a size substantially the same as the interior cross section of the car. These plates are preferably made of heavy armor-plate of about three-eighths inch thickness, and are slidably supported in place between the beams or uprig ts 10 and cleats 13 secured to the sides of the car substantiallyparallel with and adjacent to the respective ends 5 and 6. Reinforcing ribs 14: are secured upon the inner faces of, the plates 11 and 12, which ribs may be integral with or separate from the plate, as may be desired, and'in the latterv case may be constructed of wood or metal. These ribs are preferably arranged in pairs, one pair of which extends below the floor 7 for the purpose of connecting the shockabsorbing means, as will more fully hereinafter appear.

The shock-absorbing means to which the auxiliary end walls 11 and 12 are connected comprise housings of suitable construction arranged in pairs below the floor 7 and within the car near the top thereof. The housing for the shock-absorbing means arranged on the bottom of the car comprises a pair of castings 15 and 16 having interfitting end flanges 1'7 and 18 which are secured in the position shown in Fig. 2, by being bolted to the framework of the car below the floor. The housing used in the top of the car is preferably a one-piece casting providing a space between the ends and sides thereof which is open at the bottom. The housings on the bottom of the car are preferably located upon opposite sides of and adjacent to the longitudinal center line of the car, whereas the other housings are secured to the sides of the car at the top, directly under the roof.

Compression springs 19 are arranged within the housings between followers 20 and 21. The followers 20 and 21. are con nected by rods 22 and 23 to the auxiliary end members 5 and 6 respectively, the rods from the shock-absorbing means below the floor being connected to the middle pair of ribs 14: at a point below said floor, and the rods leading from the upper shock-absorbing means extending through the upper ends of the outer pair of ribs 14L This yieldingly shiftable auxiliary end construction is particularly suited for the shipment of lumber and other loosely piled arti else. In the first instance, by reason of its being spaced away from the normal ends of the car, it prevents damage thereto resulting from the violent jars to which the load is subjected during transit, and in the second place, it allows a relative shifting, which shifting is yieldingly resisted by the shockabsorbing means. The tension of the springs 19 is such that if the car is used for the transportation of loose articles in bulk, such as grain, the weight of the load against said ends, even supplemented by the shocks which may occur, is insufficient to shift the auxiliary walls 11 and 12 out of contact with the cleats 13.

Although but one specific embodiment of this invention has been herein shown and described, it will be understood that numerous details of the construction shown may be altered or omitted without departing from the spirit of this invention as defined by the following claims.

I claim:

1. A car of the class described, comprising end walls rigidlysecured to the bottom and sides of the car, supplemental end walls slidably mounted inwardly from said rigid end walls, and yielding shock absorbing means located intermediate said supplemental end walls at the top and bottom of said car and normally urging said shiftable end walls toward each other and permitting a limited movement toward the respective rigid end walls.

2. A car of the class described, comprising end walls rigidly secured to the bottom and sides of the car, supplemental end walls slidably mounted inwardly from said rigid end walls, shock-absorbing means located below the bottom of said car adjacent to and on opposite sides of the longitudinal center line of said car, other shock-absorbing means located at the top and sides of said car intermediate said supplemental end walls, and mechanism connecting said first-mentioned shock-absorbing means with the bottoms of said supplemental end walls and connecting the other-said shock-absorbing means with the tops of said supplemental end walls.

3. A car of the class described, comprising end walls rigidly secured to the bottom and sides of the car, metal plates of substantially the same size as the normal interior cross section of said car, slidably mounted within said car adjacent to said rigid end walls, and shock absorbing means located intermediate said metal plates and connected to said plates so as to normally urge them toward each other and permit a limited movementtoward the respective rigid end walls.

4:. A car of the class described, comprising end Walls rigidly secured to the bottom and sides of the car, metal plates of substantially the same size as the interior cross section of said car, slidably mounted within said car adjacent to said rigid end walls, reinforcing ribs vertically arranged on said plates, shock-absorbing means arranged at the top and bottom of said car intermediate the ends thereof, and rods connecting the shock-absorbing means at the bottom of said car with the lower ends of certain of said ribs and the shock-absorbing means at the top of said car with the upper ends of certain of said ribs.

5. A car of the class described, comprising end walls rigidly secured to the bottom and sides of said car in a convenient manner, shoulders vertically arranged on the sides of said car adjacent to but inwardly from said ends, supplemental end walls of substantially the same size as the interior cross section of said car, slidably arranged in substantial parallel relation with said rigid end walls between said shoulders and the adjacent rigid end walls, compression springs located at the bottom and top of said car respectively, intermediate the ends thereof, and rods connecting said compression springs with said supplemental end walls and normally urging the same toward each other into contact with said shoulders and permitting a shifting of said supplemental end walls toward said rigid end walls.

Signed at Chicago this 13th day of August, 1919.

VALENTY WROGLAWSKI. 

